Adhesives have been in use for hundreds of years, perhaps even dating back as far as 2000 BC. Since naturally occurring adhesives were discovered, they have been in continuous use to bind pieces of material together. Advancements in adhesives have developed gradually over time, with the greatest enhancements taking place in the 20th century with the development and production of particular plastics and resins that exhibit particular characteristics which may be beneficial in certain bonding applications. Adhesives may be organized by the particular methods of adhesion: non-reactive and reactive, the difference being whether the adhesive chemically reacts in order to harden. Adhesives may be formed from naturally occurring materials (bioadhesives), or may be synthetic. Generally, the type of adhesive is selected based on the required degree of adhesion between the two materials.
Ever since their development, adhesives have been used in every industry for everything from constructing containers to adhering shingles to a roof, and nearly everything in between. Adhesives provide several advantages over other binding techniques such as sewing, mechanical fastening, etc., including the ability to bind together dissimilar materials, make design choices that would otherwise be unachievable, and more efficiently distribute stresses across a joint, to name a few. However, adhesives also suffer from several disadvantages. Adhesives may experience decreased stability at less than ideal conditions (i.e., at high or low temperatures). Further, the larger the objects, the more difficult it becomes to adhere the objects together if the bonding surface area is small. Finally, where a high degree of adhesion is desirable so that the materials do not become separated, it may be difficult to also provide a sufficient degree of flexibility to allow the materials to expand and contract due to changes in the environment surrounding the adhered objects. As a result, the adhesive, or even the object itself, may malfunction.
It shall be appreciated from the foregoing, therefore, that prior art adhesives present problems that are in need of solutions and there is a need for an adhesive having increased flexibility for damping purposes that may be used in conditions where such damping characteristics are desirable.